New Study Shows Just How Safe Abortions Really Are

Last Friday, the journal Obsetrics & Gynecology published a study that could be one of the most important pieces of research concerning abortion, ever. The study confirms previous research that found that abortion is very safe, but it's the first of its kind to give a complete picture of a woman's healthcare after an abortion, as well, which includes emergency room visits and trips to clinics closer to home than their abortion providers.

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In the study, researchers from UC San Francisco analyzed data from more than 50,000 women who had abortions from 2009 to 2010, while they were covered by California's Medi-Cal fee-for-service program. Researchers also analyzed data about the women's medical care during the six weeks after the procedure, and whether they had any abortion-related complications requiring hospital care.

Ultimately, the researchers found that in all 54,911 abortions they studied, only 126 cases had major complications—ones that needed hospital admission, surgery, or a blood transfusion—in the six weeks following the procedure. In addition to that, 1,030 cases had minor complications, making the total complication rate less than 0.25 percent—or about the same complication rate as a routine colonoscopy. (And that number might be slightly inflated because the study focused on lower-income women; wealthier women with insurance may see doctors more often, and thus be healthier in general.)

For those anti-abortion advocates who claim that abortion isn't safe, this study should be illuminating. As the study's lead author Ushma Upadhyay said in a statement, "Abortion is very safe as currently performed, which calls into question the need for additional regulations that purportedly aim to improve safety."